The Rest of MY Life
by sarahy
Summary: It was the first day of the rest of my life... A bored Bella moves to Forks, expecting to suffer through 2 years of high school. Will she ever grow to like the town? What happens when she falls in love with the school jock? AH, Canon, OOC, R&R please!
1. Sacrificial Lamb

Author's note:

Still new to writing fan fiction and how the site works. So. How about you do me a favor? Read and review. Leave me a message (my email address is in my profile- I have no idea how to work the Pms). Let me know what you like, what you don't like, if you have any ideas. Anything and everything is appreciated. Thanks!

Disclaimer:

I don't own Twilight. I don't own Mike (thank goodness!). I don't own Bella (although I can relate to her). And I certainly don't own any of the coming characters… Including Edward. Dangit.

Chapter 1- Sacrificial Lamb

I don't recall what made me do this. Why I was willing to sacrifice myself to move to tiny, rainy Forks is beyond me. I know it had something to do with my mom's happiness and her ability to travel with her new husband, Phil. At the time I thought I would appreciate not witnessing her post-coital glow when he was in town, and her moping around when he wasn't. Now that I was here, though, I wasn't so sure. Perhaps I didn't have it as bad as I thought. I mean, Phil isn't that bad. He's kind of nice, actually. And I had a routine there. I already blended in. I knew the system and how to work it. Here in Forks I would be like a shiny new toy for everyone to stare at and gossip about. I wasn't even going to pretend I didn't know that was how it would go. I knew the drill. We had new students pour in quite a bit back home in Arizona. I'm sure I even gossiped about a few of them. I was fairly certain that Forks High rarely had fresh meat so I would amply stick out. Just being on campus, everyone would be aware of my presence. And it didn't help that I was certain Charlie, my dad, had told everyone in this inconsequential little town that I was coming to stay with him. Everyone in all of Forks was sure to be waiting, expecting, looking out for the Swan girl.

So here I was. Living with the father I only saw two weeks a summer, attending a school where I knew no one.

I drove to school early in my beat up Mustang, a gift from my ever guilty father that I appreciated more than life itself, and parked in the first spot I found. I climbed out of the car and looked around at the empty parking lot. I figured I had about fifteen minutes to get my class schedule and get settled in first period before students began piling in. My goal was to be hidden in class before the bulk of my new peers got here. I new I would have to hustle.

"PE? But I already took two years back in Phoenix. That's all they required. Can't I just transfer that and take a different course?" I was certain they would not want me in a gym here. I had been known to send kids to the nurses office with bloody noses back home.

"I'm sorry. Four years is required in Forks. Unless you want to take a sport? If you sign up for cheerleading or ladies' basketball or something that would let you opt out…" I gagged a little at the sheer prospect of cheerleading. No, thank you. I knew the councellor was trying to be helpful, but she just didn't get it. Defeated, I just shook my head.

"No, thanks," I mumbled, a little bitter. I took my schedule and left to hunt down my first hour class. At least in a school this small I wouldn't get lost. Had I moved from Forks to Phoenix I would surely have died from anxiety.

I made it in to my English class without incident- a small miracle for me. I said a quick prayer of thanks that I had made it this far without causing any more awareness of myself. I knew it wouldn't be much longer, though.

I had been seated for a couple minutes before the class started filling up. I had chosen a seat in the back hoping that would grant me a little less attention. It didn't help. A group of three guys were the first to enter the classroom and immediately stopped in there tracks when they saw me. I shrunk down in my seat and let my hair fall in my face to try and hide my embarrassment. I absolutely hated being the center of attention. Until the novelty of my company wore off, I knew I would be nothing but. I hoped I could make it that long without going absolutely crazy.

"Hey. You're Isabella Swan, right?" One of the guys sat in a seat next to me and pulled me out of my reverie.

"um. Yeah. Just Bella."

"Well, hello, Just Bella," he said, and winked. Did he seriously just wink at me? I forced back the urge to roll my eyes and smiled. "I'm Mike. Newton. Your new guide to all things Forks and partner in crime."

Yeah. Whatever. "Hi, Mike," I muttered, turning to look at the clock above the door. When was class going to start, anyways? The kid didn't take a hint and kept droning on about how much I would like Forks. I highly doubted that. I would do my time here and move on to college, preferably somewhere sunny and warm, far away from dreary Forks.

"So where are you from, anyway?"

"Arizona."

"Oh. Wow. I bet you're going through a real shock to the system, then, huh?" I didn't want to explain to him that I had come here before- many times. I didn't feel like telling him that I hated Forks so much that I typically stayed inside when I was forced to visit. I simply nodded my head and let him think whatever he wanted to. He was sure to come up with plenty of his own opinions about me anyways. I absent mindedly looked around the room. My gaze must have paused on the two guys sitting beside Mike, because he quickly looked over his shoulder and introduced them. "Oh. That's Erik Yorkie," he said, gesturing at the guy with dark hair and eyes and a poor complexion. "And that's Tyler Crowley," he said, pointing to the lanky brown headed one. I took a minute to observe Mike, trying to remember faces and names. Mike was about the same height as Tyler- slightly about average, and about the same build as Erik- entirely average. Mike had blonde hair and blue eyes and neither of them were what I would have considered especially attractive. They weren't _unattractive_, really. Just… average. Or perhaps that was just my distaste for Forks clouding my judgement as it clouded everything else.


	2. Opening Pandora's Box

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. That world belongs exclusively to Stephenie Meyer. Wish I was her!**

Chapter 2: Opening Pandora's Box

The bell rang and I shot out the door, Mike on my heels.

"So. You want to sit with us at lunch? I can save you a seat." I glanced at him, unsure. "Come on. It'll give you a chance to meet everyone and get to know us. It'll be fun." I nodded my head, resigned. Sure, I'd sit with him. The fact stood that I didn't know anyone else and he was trying awfully hard to be friendly. I had an uneasy feeling that the guy was trying to be _more_ than friendly, but I hoped I was just jumping to conclusions. Maybe they were all this… Overbearingly _nice _in a town this small.

"Great," Mike exclaimed, obviously pleased. "I'll see you at lunch, then! Now that that's handled, would you like me to walk you to your next class? You know. Show you where it is?" I shrugged my shoulders and let him lead me. I was pretty sure I could find it on my own, but at least this way I would get there in time.

Mike rambled on about a few of his friends, the soccer team he was on, and a trip to the beach he was planning in a couple weeks. I tried to nod my head and make the appropriate sounds so he would think I was paying attention.

"Well, here we are, then. History with Mr. Greene. You'll like him. Just take notes and you'll be fine…" Mike trailed off, waiting for me to say something. And because I couldn't think of anything better, all I could offer up was an 'okay' and 'thanks'. I tried a smile. It felt horribly fake to me, but it must have seemed genuine to Mike, as he smiled back. I ducked into History, sat in the back again, and waited for the day to be over.

"Hi! You're the new girl! Isabella Swan, right? Ohmygosh, I've heard so much about you. Well, not really, but enough. We're going to be great friends!" The ball of energy standing beside my desk kept gushing and all I could see was a female version of Mike.

"Um. Hi. I just go by Bella." I bit my lip nervously and offered my hand to shake. She reached out enthusiastically and pumped my arm up and down a couple times. After releasing me, she took a seat in the desk beside me.

"So tell me everything about you! Where did you move here from?" And that's how it went. Before class started, when ever Mr. Greene wasn't looking at us during class, and while she "helped" me to third period, Jessica Stanley asked me question after question.

"So, if you're from Arizona, shouldn't you, like, have blonde hair? And be tan?" I self consciously looked down at my pale arms. I _was_ amazingly fair skinned for living in Phoenix my whole life…

"Um. Yeah. I guess that's why they kicked me out." It slid out before I thought about it and I hoped she didn't take offense.

"Oh. You're funny," she said, wagging a finger at me. "Well, here you are. Calculus. I'm in the class right next door, so I'll walk you to lunch?" I tried another smile and it worked on her as well as it did Mike. Maybe I should take up acting classes…

"Alright! See you then!" And then Jessica and I both ducked into our classes. Maybe I wouldn't have to lead Mike on and sit with him at lunch after all.

Jessica was waiting outside my classroom to walk to lunch just as she'd said. We walked, she chattered, and I just watched where I was walking. I had made it three hours without tripping or bumping anyone, or anything else equally humiliating, and I didn't want to do something stupid such as not watch where I was going. This kind of luck only lasted so long.

We walked into the cafeteria and went straight to the lunch line. Mike was at a table near the entrance with his friends, Tyler and Erik, along with a few other kids I hadn't met yet. He must have seen us enter, because he was immediately behind us in the line.

"Hey! Arizona! How were your last two classes?"

"Um. They were okay…" I trailed off, biting my lip in nervousness.

Jessica looked at Mike and then back at me, a new wave of emotion clouding her face. "So, you two already met?"

"Oh, yeah!" Mike said, snaking an arm around my waist that I couldn't quite figure out how to wiggle away from. "I already invited her to sit with us. Isn't that right, Arizona?"

I saw Jessica wad her face up, but just as fast as it was there, it was gone. I wondered if her and Mike had a thing.

"Mike, her name is Bella."

They continued to banter back and forth as we made it through the line. I grabbed a tray while looking around the cafeteria. I observed how everyone was interacting, how they dressed, how they moved. They weren't too different from the kids I'd known back home. I might even find a way to fit in here. As I moved forward to pay, I noticed which tables were for which clique. There were the preppy cheerleader types, kids playing guitar, jocks, the nerds, the list goes on. And then, at a table in a corner in the back, was _them_.

There were no words to describe how beautiful they were, how captivating. There were two girls and three guys sitting there. My eyes were drawn to the boy with the reddish hair and his back turned to me. I barely heard Mike and Jessica behind me as my whole existence suddenly relied on him. I felt Jessica nudge me forward to pay, and then it happened.

Just then, the boy turned around, singling me out and making direct eye contact with me. I absent mindedly took one step forward, the toe of my shoe catching on nothing, on thin air, and I went down. I caught myself on the bar to my right, but not before my lunch tray flew from my hands and I saw the boy smirk at me.

Never before could I remember my face burning that bad, my cheeks a fierce red.

And then everyone was clamoring around me. The cafeteria lady looked at me in sympathy and grabbed another filled tray for me without saying a word. Jessica and Mike were asking if I was okay, what made me fall. And everyone else that I could see was laughing.

"I'm fine. Let's just go sit down, okay?" I bit out, instantly regretting it. It wasn't their fault I was such a klutz.

**AN: So? How was it? I thought that was a good first impression… Please review and let me know what you think! By the way, I need good chapter titles. It's harder than I thought it would be. If I use one that you suggest, I'll give you all the credit. Thanks! Now click that little review button… **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. But I'll take any one of the Cullens if they're up for grabs.**

I spent the lunch period replaying that horrible scene in my head- and sneaking glances at the boy with the bronze hair. He kept his back to me, but there were two distinct times, after my fall, when I saw him turn and look my way. I would always force myself to look away when he started to shift so I wouldn't be caught staring.

Jessica must have noticed where my attention kept drifting, because as much as I tried, I'm sure I didn't make noises at all the appropriate places to appease her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw where my attention was directed.

"Don't even bother," Jessica said with a hint of bitterness.

"With what," I asked, already kicking myself that she'd caught me staring.

"Them," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the boy's table. "They pretty much keep to themselves."

"So, who are they?" I tried my best to sound nonchalant. I don't think I succeeded much.

"The Cullens and Hales." She took a moment to sigh and roll her eyes as if they annoyed her. I wondered if she was just upset because she didn't belong in their clique. "The blonde girl is Rosalie Hale, and the blonde guy is Jasper. Their twins. Rosalie's with Emmett- the big one with the dark curly hair. And the short girl with dark spikey hair? That's Alice, she's Jasper's girlfriend."

"And the last one?" The one that's breath-catching, heart-stopping gorgeous? The one my whole existence revolves around now? The one that laughed at me?

Jessica rolled her eyes again before she replied. "That's Edward." Her tone was clipped. It was clear she wasn't going to say anything else on the matter.

"And," I pushed.

"And he's single, as far as anyone can tell. I don't know. Maybe he's gay. Clearly no girl _here_ is good enough for him…"

I let the subject drop after that. I was positive this was a case of sour grapes. But who knew? Maybe Edward was gay and any effort I put in to getting his attention would be wasted. I glanced up at him again and couldn't help staring. I was lost in thought about this mystery man. I was pretty sure Mike and Jessica tried to engage me in conversation a few times, but all I could bring myself to do was look up and smile. Or pretend to smile. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately…

When I heard the bell ring, I grabbed my bag and made my way out of the cafeteria. I felt a hand land on my shoulder and looked up to see Mike hovering beside me. "Hey, Arizona! What class do you have next?" Great. Was this how my whole day was going to be spent? Being shuffled around by Forks' two person pep-squad, Mike and Jessica?

I dug in my pocket and handed over my schedule without a word.

"Biology! Perfect! That's the same class I have next period, too!" Oh, yeah. Perfect. I just smiled.

We walked mostly in silence. When we reached the classroom, Mike gave me a big, goofy grin and walked to his table. I stepped up to the teacher's desk to introduce myself. As if he wouldn't already know who I was.

"Isabella. What a pleasure to finally meet you. And we had one seat left." He pointed in the general direction of the only available seat. I turned to make my way to the back of the room and froze when I noticed who my lab partner would be.

The red haired boy who gave me that crazy smirk when I tripped.

I felt my face flush and tried to concentrate on walking. I didn't want a repeat of lunch period.

As luck would have it, one of Jessica's friends that had sat at our lunch table had left her bag in the aisle. My foot caught in the shoulder strap and I went forward, my hand flailing out to catch me. There had been a glass bottle of iodine on Edward's- my- lab table and I knocked it off the table in my attempt to stabilize myself. And where should the iodine spill? It splattered over Edward's shirt.

"Watch out, Spaz!" Edward cried, jumping to his feet. He stormed to the front of the classroom to grab paper towels. I saw Edward muttering to Mr. Banner as he swiped at his shirt I was positive it would stain.

I had cleaned up around our table and was seated before he made his way back to his chair.

"I'm so sorry! I'll- I'll buy you another shirt!"

He barely looked up and I instantly had one simple thought running through my head: If looks could kill.

All through class, I interacted with Edward as little as possible. I left my hair down and hanging forward, as if it were a curtain I could hide behind. I let Edward use the lab equipment before I even thought about it. In short, I made myself as invisible as possible.

Edward was out of his seat before the bell even finished ringing. I lazily put things away in my bag, waiting for the class to empty out. Mike was waiting a couple of tables ahead of me.

"Man, what was his problem? You'd think you stabbed him with a pencil or something."

"Well, I did spill our iodine all over him. That's almost as bad…"

"Naw. I'd trade that to be your lab partner. I'd definitely atleast talk to you."

Mike followed me all the way to gym. I was a little surprised when he walked inside, but I shouldn't have been. Of course I'd have another class with the golden retriever. In a school this small, I was lucky I didn't have all my classes with him.

I did, however, catch a break once that day. Everyone had already been paired up for tennis, so I was allowed to sit back and watch. I was warned, though, that by Wednesday they would be on to a different sport and I would be expected to participate. Little did the coach know that everyone would prefer it if I didn't.

After school, I stopped by the office to drop off the paper all my teachers signed. At first I was shocked to see Edward already in there. And then I heard what he was saying.

"You don't get it. My new lab partner is a complete spaz." He was trying to get out of 5th period Bio.

"I'm sorry Edward," replied Mrs. Cope, "but all the classes are full. Maybe your teacher could let you switch with someone else?"

"I already tried that. He's not budging." Edward's voice was low and gravely. He was not happy with this news.

She grinned and shrugged sheepishly. There was nothing she could do, but I could tell she would have if she could. Edward had leverage.

"Fine. I guess I'll just have to _endure _it." He glanced at me before he stormed out of the office.

I slammed the paper down on the counter before turning and running out of the office after Edward. I _knew_ I was a spaz. I was practically disabled, I was such a klutz. But I had offered to buy him a new shirt. There was nothing more I could do about that. And it didn't help that apparently abhorred me over an accident.

This was going to be a long school year…

**A/N: So… It's been a while. I couldn't think of a cool chapter title. That's actually harder than writing th chapter for me. I'm just lame like that. Anyways. How did this chapter go? Please R&R. They're like a drug to me. Haha.**


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